Chopsticks serve as the principal eating utensil in China, Japan, Taiwan, and other Asian countries, and are being increasingly used worldwide, particularly for eating Asian food. Normally, chopsticks consist in pairs of identical sticks shaped and sized to be handheld, and more particularly to be operated by the thumb, main and index fingers in order to seize portions of food. The sticks are generally sleek and simple in shape, and made of wood, plastic or metal. Certain chopsticks are tapered in order to provide a thicker proximal end gripping portion and a thinner distal eating end.
While chopsticks constitute a convenient, clean, and enjoyable eating utensil, they also present certain drawbacks. Mainly, when rested on a table or other eating surface, chopsticks greatly contact the surface and can potentially become contaminated. Many surfaces are dirty, and include contaminants, germs and bacteria if not washed regularly. As a result, a contaminated eating utensil can pose a health risk to the user. To safely reduce or eliminate germs and bacteria that may have contaminated the distal operating end of the chopstick eating utensil, the utensil must be repeatedly washed after coming into contact with a surface.
To address this concern, a solution consisting in an auxiliary chopstick rest has been developed to provide an elevated surface on which to support the chopstick distal eating ends, preventing the chopstick distal eating ends from contacting the table or surface. However, such as solution is not completely effective. In practice, chopsticks tend to roll out or fall off the chopstick rest and eventually impact the table or surface. Chopstick rests are also normally lightweight and unstable, and can be easily pushed out from underneath the chopstick distal eating ends, again causing the eating ends to fall and contact the table or surface.
Accordingly, there remains a need in the art to provide an effective yet convenient system for preventing chopstick contamination when resting a pair of chopsticks on a table or surface.